Ramsor
Encyclopedia
The tiny hamlet of Ramsor (Methodist spelling) in North Staffordshire
played a significant part in the origins of Primitive Methodism
. Listed in the Domesday Book
as Ramshorn, this ancient hamlet is a typical example of the depopulation of the countryside. Very little now remains of this village apart from a few farms and cottages. The Primitive Methodist Chapel is the only surviving public building.
Ramsor, spelling the name as it was pronounced, is the usual spelling in Primitive Methodist documents while Ramshorn is still the official spelling. The variant spellings will be used here to distinguish these.
Because of the importance of Ramsor in Primitive Methodism
, this article
a) Sets out some background information on Ramshorn, and
b) Illustrates the place of Ramsor in Primitive Methodist history.
Ramshorn is mentioned in the Domesday Book
, and this gives the official standard spelling used in maps, road signs, censuses, etc. Only a few farms and houses are left, but the fact of being in the Domesday Book means that Ramshorn is shown on maps when larger places are not.
Ramshorn is in the Parish
of Ellastone
, about 3 miles west of Ellastone village, about 2 miles north of the more famous landmark, Alton Towers
, and south of the Weaver Hills
. It lies in the border between the gentler lower valley of the River Dove, Derbyshire
-Stafffordshire border, and the more rugged Staffordshire Moorlands
. A substantial area of the village is now within the J C Bamford estate. This includes the site of the school, which is now completely demolished.
The falling population of Ramshorn illustrates well the general move from the countryside to towns and cities. A factor in the urbanisation of Britain was increasing demand for manpower in mills and factories, coupled with changes in agriculture requiring reduced manpower. Some once thriving villages like Ramshorn are reduced to almost nothing. This decline in rural population may be traced from census records.
. This includes
(Some members of the Ramsor Primitive Methodist Society lived in surrounding hamlets, such as Wooton, but are for convenience included in this article as Ramsor people.)
In later years, however, the Ramsor Circuit required financial support from the District Home Missions Fund. To a large extent, this was a result of the depopulation of the countryside. Even so, the influence of Ramsor people in Primitive Methodism is remarkable for so small a place. Following the Methodist Union
of 1932, the name of Ramsor was included in the Methodist Circuit
name, The Ramsor And Uttoxeter
Circuit until the 1970s when the Circuit name was changed to The Dove Valley Circuit.
The Primitive Methodist Chapel is the main if not the only building other than farms and dwellings to survive from the 19th century. It is now in private ownership, and has been lovingly restored as a place of worship where services are occasionally held. This writer was present for services on 3 December 2006 and 31 May 2007. The second occasion was the conclusion of a walk from Mow Cop
to Ramsor on the bicentenary of the first Primitive Methodist Camp Meeting
. The present pulpit is not the original, but one rescued from a similar chapel at Gun End, near The Roaches
to the north of Leek, Staffordshire
. This looks as if it had been purpose built for Ramsor Chapel. The lighter panels are wood carvings.
The present Chapel is the Jubilee Chapel, built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. It stands across the road from Chapel Farm, in the grounds of which stood the first Chapel .
’s writings, and it is obvious from these that he frequently visited the village. His first visit was in May 1808 He uses examples of Ramsor people quite frequently in his articles in the Primitive Methodist Magazine
to illustrate both doctrine and general Christian life. For example, he gives an example from Ramsor of the healing of Elizabeth Wain from 6 years using crutches amongst several examples of miraculous healing.
Ramsor was the place of Hugh Bourne’s first funeral sermon. This is described in his article “Anecdote of a Present Salvation in which he writes of the teaching of John Wesley
on this subject. As an example, he relates the experience of Elizabeth Warrington, whose conversion in March 1810 was due to her meeting with Bourne. She died in November 1810, having shown very clear evidence of her faith in spite of a long illness. In the summer of 1810, Bourne had been persuaded to doubt the reality of “present salvation”, but was persuaded by Elizabeth’s life that what Wesley had taught was true.
’s preaching was testimony and “exhortation”. The Ramsor Camp Meeting of 9 October 1808 was the first time he “preached from a text”. When in September 1810 he was put out of membership of the Burslem Wesleyan Circuit for “attending Camp Meetings”, it followed his attendance on an impulse of the June 1810 Ramsor Camp Meeting. Ironically, Clowes attended only 5 of the 17 Camp Meetings from the first at Mow Cop
on 31 May 1807 to the establishment of Primitive Methodism in 1811.
was one of the most popular of all the Primitive Methodist Travelling Preachers, and a prolific hymn writer. At a time when most Travelling Preachers stayed only one or two years in any one place, Jukes spent 4 years at Ramsor, summer 1834 to 1838. Perhaps his best known hymn is
“My Heart is fixed Eternal God”
In 1808 Francis Horrobin guided Hugh Bourne
to villages which were “spiritually destitute”. Later, Horrobin paid for the printing of the first primitive Methodist Class Tickets, issued 30 May 1811.
Places named on the Preaching Plans of the Ramsor Circuit include Mixon and Ecton
. These are example of the “industrial mission” activities of the Primitive Methodists. Both were mines, Mixon being south east of Leek
, and Ecton
being in the Manifold Valley. As well as a famous copper mine, Ecton
also had a creamery and cheese factory, and a lead mine, and was an important station on the Leek and Manifold Light Railway. Postcards from around 1900 – 1910 show the Chapel. At this time this was a Primitive Methodist chapel, but during the 19th century both the Primitive and the Wesleyan Methodists (from nearby Wetton
) had regular preaching there. Hugh Bourne’s first evangelism had been amongst coal miners around Harriseahead
, and this interest in working people was characteristic of the Primitive Methodists.
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
played a significant part in the origins of Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The Primitive Methodist Church still exists in the United States.-Origins:...
. Listed in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as Ramshorn, this ancient hamlet is a typical example of the depopulation of the countryside. Very little now remains of this village apart from a few farms and cottages. The Primitive Methodist Chapel is the only surviving public building.
Ramsor, spelling the name as it was pronounced, is the usual spelling in Primitive Methodist documents while Ramshorn is still the official spelling. The variant spellings will be used here to distinguish these.
Because of the importance of Ramsor in Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The Primitive Methodist Church still exists in the United States.-Origins:...
, this article
a) Sets out some background information on Ramshorn, and
b) Illustrates the place of Ramsor in Primitive Methodist history.
Ramshorn
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, and this gives the official standard spelling used in maps, road signs, censuses, etc. Only a few farms and houses are left, but the fact of being in the Domesday Book means that Ramshorn is shown on maps when larger places are not.
Ramshorn is in the Parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Ellastone
Ellastone
Ellastone is a village in central England on the Staffordshire side of the River Dove, between Uttoxeter and Ashbourne.-Location and history:...
, about 3 miles west of Ellastone village, about 2 miles north of the more famous landmark, Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
, and south of the Weaver Hills
Weaver Hills
The Weaver Hills are a small range of hills in north Staffordshire, England.The Weaver Hills are about east of Stoke on Trent and about west of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, just south of the A52 road and north of the Churnet Valley...
. It lies in the border between the gentler lower valley of the River Dove, Derbyshire
River Dove, Derbyshire
The River Dove is the principal river of the southwestern Peak District, in the Midlands of England and is around in length. It rises on Axe Edge Moor near Buxton and flows generally south to its confluence with the River Trent at Newton Solney. From there, its waters reach the North Sea via the...
-Stafffordshire border, and the more rugged Staffordshire Moorlands
Staffordshire Moorlands
Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, is based in Leek and is located between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the Peak District National Park. The 2001 census recorded the population as...
. A substantial area of the village is now within the J C Bamford estate. This includes the site of the school, which is now completely demolished.
The falling population of Ramshorn illustrates well the general move from the countryside to towns and cities. A factor in the urbanisation of Britain was increasing demand for manpower in mills and factories, coupled with changes in agriculture requiring reduced manpower. Some once thriving villages like Ramshorn are reduced to almost nothing. This decline in rural population may be traced from census records.
Ramsor in Primitive Methodist history
Though often backstage to the Potteries (Stoke on Trent), Ramsor and its people played a major part in the origins of Primitive MethodismPrimitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The Primitive Methodist Church still exists in the United States.-Origins:...
. This includes
- First Ramsor Camp Meetings held in 1808
- William Clowes expelled from the Wesleyan Methodists after attending a Camp Meeting at Ramsor.
- Hugh Bourne’s first funeral sermon for a Ramsor young woman in 1810.
- The first Primitive Methodist Class Ticket paid for by a Ramsor farmer in 1811.
- Ramsor became a “Head of Circuit” in 1822 having been a “Head of Section” in the Tunstall Primitive Methodist Circuit. The Cheadle and Leek (in 1838) Primitive Methodist Circuits were largely carved out of the Ramsor Circuit.
(Some members of the Ramsor Primitive Methodist Society lived in surrounding hamlets, such as Wooton, but are for convenience included in this article as Ramsor people.)
In later years, however, the Ramsor Circuit required financial support from the District Home Missions Fund. To a large extent, this was a result of the depopulation of the countryside. Even so, the influence of Ramsor people in Primitive Methodism is remarkable for so small a place. Following the Methodist Union
Methodist Union
For English Methodists, Methodist Union refers to the joining together, in 1932, of several of the larger groups of English Methodists. These were the Wesleyan Methodists, the Primitive Methodists, and the United Methodists.-Methodist Union:...
of 1932, the name of Ramsor was included in the Methodist Circuit
Methodist Circuit
The Methodist Circuit is part of the organisational structure of British Methodism,or at least those branches derived from the work of John Wesley. It is a group of individual Societies or local Churches under the care of one or more Methodist Ministers. In the scale of organisation, the Circuit...
name, The Ramsor And Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter is a historic market town in Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 13,711, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies close to the River Dove and is near the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and...
Circuit until the 1970s when the Circuit name was changed to The Dove Valley Circuit.
Ramsor Primitive Methodist Chapel
Mow Cop
Mow Cop is an isolated village which straddles the Cheshire–Staffordshire border, and is thus divided between the North West and West Midlands regions of England...
to Ramsor on the bicentenary of the first Primitive Methodist Camp Meeting
Camp meeting
The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in Britain and once common in some parts of the United States, wherein people would travel from a large area to a particular site to camp out, listen to itinerant preachers, and pray...
. The present pulpit is not the original, but one rescued from a similar chapel at Gun End, near The Roaches
The Roaches
The Roaches is the name given to a prominent rocky ridge situated above Leek and Tittesworth Reservoir in the Peak District of England...
to the north of Leek, Staffordshire
Leek, Staffordshire
Leek is a market town in the county of Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet. It is an ancient borough and was granted its royal charter in 1214.It is the administrative centre for the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council...
. This looks as if it had been purpose built for Ramsor Chapel. The lighter panels are wood carvings.
The present Chapel is the Jubilee Chapel, built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. It stands across the road from Chapel Farm, in the grounds of which stood the first Chapel .
Hugh Bourne
Ramsor is frequently mentioned in Hugh BourneHugh Bourne
Hugh Bourne was the joint founder of Primitive Methodism, the largest offshoot of Wesleyan Methodism and, in the mid nineteenth century, an influential Protestant Christian movement in its own right.- Early life :...
’s writings, and it is obvious from these that he frequently visited the village. His first visit was in May 1808 He uses examples of Ramsor people quite frequently in his articles in the Primitive Methodist Magazine
Primitive Methodist Magazine
The Primitive Methodist Magazine was the monthly magazine of the Primitive Methodist Church in Britain, spanning just over a century. From 1820, the Magazine was edited by Hugh Bourne, who printed the magazine at Bemersley Farm about 2 miles from Mow Cop. Production was moved to London in 1843...
to illustrate both doctrine and general Christian life. For example, he gives an example from Ramsor of the healing of Elizabeth Wain from 6 years using crutches amongst several examples of miraculous healing.
Ramsor was the place of Hugh Bourne’s first funeral sermon. This is described in his article “Anecdote of a Present Salvation in which he writes of the teaching of John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
on this subject. As an example, he relates the experience of Elizabeth Warrington, whose conversion in March 1810 was due to her meeting with Bourne. She died in November 1810, having shown very clear evidence of her faith in spite of a long illness. In the summer of 1810, Bourne had been persuaded to doubt the reality of “present salvation”, but was persuaded by Elizabeth’s life that what Wesley had taught was true.
William Clowes
Following his conversion in January 1805, William ClowesWilliam Clowes
William Clowes was a printer who developed the use of steam powered printing presses in the industry. He founded the printing firm which became William Clowes Ltd. in London in 1803....
’s preaching was testimony and “exhortation”. The Ramsor Camp Meeting of 9 October 1808 was the first time he “preached from a text”. When in September 1810 he was put out of membership of the Burslem Wesleyan Circuit for “attending Camp Meetings”, it followed his attendance on an impulse of the June 1810 Ramsor Camp Meeting. Ironically, Clowes attended only 5 of the 17 Camp Meetings from the first at Mow Cop
Mow Cop
Mow Cop is an isolated village which straddles the Cheshire–Staffordshire border, and is thus divided between the North West and West Midlands regions of England...
on 31 May 1807 to the establishment of Primitive Methodism in 1811.
Richard Jukes
Richard JukesRichard Jukes
Rev. Richard Jukes was a popular Primitive Methodist Minister and hymn writer.-Rev. Richard Jukes:This article provides a brief biography, and a summary of his work as a popular Minister and hymn writer during the first half-century of Primitive Methodism-Biography:Richard Jukes was born on 9...
was one of the most popular of all the Primitive Methodist Travelling Preachers, and a prolific hymn writer. At a time when most Travelling Preachers stayed only one or two years in any one place, Jukes spent 4 years at Ramsor, summer 1834 to 1838. Perhaps his best known hymn is
“My Heart is fixed Eternal God”
Camp meetings and other events
Holliday Bickerstaffe Kendall says that there were five Ramsor Camp Meetings up to 1811, these being on 4 September and 9 October 1808, 21 May 1809, 3 June 1810, and 26 May 1811.In 1808 Francis Horrobin guided Hugh Bourne
Hugh Bourne
Hugh Bourne was the joint founder of Primitive Methodism, the largest offshoot of Wesleyan Methodism and, in the mid nineteenth century, an influential Protestant Christian movement in its own right.- Early life :...
to villages which were “spiritually destitute”. Later, Horrobin paid for the printing of the first primitive Methodist Class Tickets, issued 30 May 1811.
Places named on the Preaching Plans of the Ramsor Circuit include Mixon and Ecton
Ecton, Staffordshire
For the village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, see EctonEcton is a hamlet in the Staffordshire Peak District . It is on the Manifold Way, an 8 mile walk- and cycle-path which follows the line of the former Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway....
. These are example of the “industrial mission” activities of the Primitive Methodists. Both were mines, Mixon being south east of Leek
Leek, Staffordshire
Leek is a market town in the county of Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet. It is an ancient borough and was granted its royal charter in 1214.It is the administrative centre for the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council...
, and Ecton
Ecton, Staffordshire
For the village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, see EctonEcton is a hamlet in the Staffordshire Peak District . It is on the Manifold Way, an 8 mile walk- and cycle-path which follows the line of the former Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway....
being in the Manifold Valley. As well as a famous copper mine, Ecton
Ecton, Staffordshire
For the village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, see EctonEcton is a hamlet in the Staffordshire Peak District . It is on the Manifold Way, an 8 mile walk- and cycle-path which follows the line of the former Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway....
also had a creamery and cheese factory, and a lead mine, and was an important station on the Leek and Manifold Light Railway. Postcards from around 1900 – 1910 show the Chapel. At this time this was a Primitive Methodist chapel, but during the 19th century both the Primitive and the Wesleyan Methodists (from nearby Wetton
Wetton, Staffordshire
Wetton is a village in the Peak District National Park, North Staffordshire, at the top of the east side of the Manifold Valley. The population recorded in the 2001 Census was 157. This article describes the location, some of the main features of the village, and a number of places of historical or...
) had regular preaching there. Hugh Bourne’s first evangelism had been amongst coal miners around Harriseahead
Harriseahead
The village of Harriseahead on the northern edge of the Potteries is of historical interest.-Harriseahead:Harriseahead is a village in the county of Staffordshire, England,just north of Stoke on Trent and about 2 miles south-west of Biddulph and very close to the border with Cheshire.The etymology...
, and this interest in working people was characteristic of the Primitive Methodists.
External links
- Ramshorn on MultiMap page 1:25000 O.S. map
- Some material devoted to Methodist History in Ramsor
- 'Life of Hugh Bourne' (1888) by Rev. Jesse Ashworth
- 'History of the Primitive Methodist Connexion' (1888?) by Rev. H. B. Kendall (the first of three histories by Kendall)
- The 2 volume 1907 History by Kendall has been reprinted by Tentmaker Publications